Nintendo and The Louvre Team Up

Gamers who fancy a musical adventure around the streets of Paris, including some shenanigans in the world famous museum the Louvre, can do so in Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure. For those who want to combine the handheld with the museum in real life, however, we have good news.

We reported last year that Nintendo was donating 5000 3DS consoles to the Louvre, and starting tomorrow visitors will be able to use these units for an audio-visual guide. Including 3D images, animations and audio, the guide can apparently be tailored to individual tastes, though we doubt it'll teach you how to steal rare treasures or be as much fun as Rhythm R's daredevil visits. Full details, including a link to download some of the content directly, are in the lengthy press release below; hopefully it'll inspire some more people to try out Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, which has become the best game in recent times to completely miss the UK charts.

As part of an ongoing partnership between Nintendo Co., Ltd and the Louvre Museum in Paris, the most visited art museum in the world, Nintendo will be providing the Louvre with Nintendo 3DS™ systems that will house an exclusive audio guide. The Audio guide Louvre – Nintendo 3DS will become available in the Louvre for visitors to enjoy from 11th April 2012 onwards. With this partnership, Nintendo & the Louvre hope that visitors to the museum will be aided with a tool to deepen their knowledge of art culture in a fun and interactive way.

Developers working at Nintendo Co., Ltd, based in Kyoto, Japan have developed the audio guide which is housed within the Nintendo 3DS system, in order to support the enjoyment and appreciation of the Louvre’s exhibits for many of the museum’s 8.9 million annual visitors. The audio guide will provide audio and visual tools which will help visitors to understand and deepen their knowledge of the artwork and exhibits in place.

Through utilising the unique functionalities of the Nintendo 3DS system including 3D images and animation, the guide includes an interactive map that allows visitors to see exactly where they are in the museum. It also offers over 700 commentaries on the works of art, providing a fresh perspective on the Louvre’s collections and the story behind the building itself. The versatile guide can be tailored to individual tastes and really brings the artwork to life, thanks to commentaries recorded by the museum’s curators and lecturers.

Mr Barbaret, Managing Director from the Louvre, comments “I’m particularly pleased that our partnership with Nintendo has taken this new form today, thanks to the new multimedia audio guide on the Nintendo 3DS system. Through this partnership, we wanted to bring together heritage and the innovative world of interactive entertainment through a system many people are already familiar with. We feel that the Nintendo 3DS is perfect to achieve this goal. Nintendo has brought over 35 years of experience in games and game console development, and we believe that the new audio guide is a valuable tool that will help visiting the Louvre a more dynamic and rewarding experience, particularly for those that are not so familiar with a museum environment.”

Mr Satoru Iwata, Global President at Nintendo Co., Ltd, comments “Nintendo is honoured that the Nintendo 3DS system will be able to support and provide this exclusive audio guide to such a renowned and popular art museum. Nintendo's experience within the development of games that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of age and gender, has been utilised with the aim that visitors to the Louvre museum will have further enriched opportunities to experience the exhibits on offer."

Features of the Audioguide Louvre – Nintendo 3DS

The self-guided tour

This includes over 700 audio commentaries and photos, many in high definition. With simple and engaging explanations, specialists from the Louvre give visitors background information to help them understand the works on display.

The essential works

This is a selection of major works of art highlighted on the interactive map, to ensure visitors don't miss the museum’s most important pieces. Visitors can create their own itinerary through the museum to discover the pieces they want to see.

Tours to help discover the museum

There is a choice of two themed tours, specially devised for those visiting the Louvre for the first time. Each tour lasts approximately 45 minutes:

“Masterpieces” tour – This tour allows visitors to discover or rediscover the museum’s most famous pieces such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, guided step by step through some of the Louvre’s most prestigious rooms.

“Egypt for all the family” tour (coming soon) - Humorous and informative, this tour brings to life the Egyptian people and the area around the River Nile, the work of the peasants and craftsmen and the power of the pharaohs. Visitors are encouraged to observe in more detail and make sense of the objects on display. To test their knowledge they are quizzed with multimedia games throughout the visit.

Adapted tour (coming soon)

Commentaries accessible to disabled visitors: the hearing impaired can access a video-guided tour in French sign language which focuses on the Louvre’s major works. Visitors with visual impairment are able to visit the special touch gallery.

Audio guide visits of the temporary exhibition

Up until 25th June 2012, discover the mysterious secrets revealed in the exhibition “The Saint Anne, Leonardo da Vinci’s Ultimate Masterpiece”, with explanations by Vincent Delieuvin, head of the Louvre’s paintings department and curator of the exhibition.

An innovative location function

Housed in a huge building, with collections spread over three wings and four floors, finding your way in the museum can be daunting for some visitors. With the support of Nintendo’s location estimation technology, you no longer have an excuse for getting lost in one of the world’s largest museums. The new audio guide allows visitors to see where they are at any moment on the museum map. With the dual screens of the Nintendo 3DS, you can visualise the main map of the floor you are on, and your exact position.

3D without glasses

Interactive animations, 3D models of major works, 3D images of the museum spaces… Perhaps you’d love to be able to see the back of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but can’t get round the statue because it’s placed against a wall. With 3D technology, admire the works of art from every angle!

HD photos

Many high definition photos accompany the commentaries, helping you identify each object and access additional information. Use the HD zoom and see the rich detail of each piece: investigate the landscape behind the Mona Lisa, attempt to recognize the characters portrayed in The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon (by Jacques-Louis David), and admire the architecture shown in The Wedding Feast at Cana (by Veronese).

Nintendo 3DS pioneers the next dimensional shift in technology – bringing portable entertainment and content in 3D without the need for special glasses. To discover the unique experience the Audioguide Louvre - Nintendo 3DS offers, visit the Louvre Museum from 11th April 2012.

Keep up to date with all the official Nintendo announcements and exclusive new game information by following the official Nintendo of Europe Twitter feed @NintendoEurope

From the web

Welsh ex-pat Tom is responsible for the day-to-day running of the site. He's the guy to thank for the generally brilliant nature of the content which massages your eyeballs on a daily basis. Also has an unhealthy obsession with all things Bowser.

User Comments (10)

Never been to Paris, but I saw the Eiffel Tower through a pair of Opera glasses while sitting in a Tram at the Airport. I was returning home from Italy in 2005. Would like to take the fiance/wife someday to see Paris.

I wonder if it's available to download onto museum patrons personal 3DSs. In other words, could I D/L the tour onto my own 3DS, rather than using the museum's handhelds? It would make a nice souvenir sitting on my 3DS home menu as proof I'd been there.

The photos themselves are technically in high definition as they're captured at higher than 1280x720p (of course). You can zoom in on them to see the HD detail but no, the 3DS screen is not HD. Bit confusing but there you go

hey nintendo, stop teaming up with the louvre and other crap and JUST MAKE GAMES AND RELEASE THEM! You don't release games quick enough for anyone to care, and than u do release a game and it's like one good game a month or two. sigh seriously thinking buying a 3ds was a dumb move...